To ask the Attorney-General what steps he takes to ensure that the Crown prosecution service determines the correct charges to be brought in cases of drink-driving.

Prosecution decisions are taken after careful consideration of the police report and evidence submitted to the Crown prosecution service by the relevant police force. The criteria for such decisions are set out in the code for Crown prosecutors promulgated by the Director of Public Prosecutions in accordance with section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. Subject to the requirement that certain categories of case must be submitted to the Crown prosecution service headquarters for consideration, it is the responsibility of the chief Crown prosecutor to establish arrangements within his area to ensure that decisions in particular cases are taken at a level of seniority commensurate with the gravity and difficulty of the particular case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many inquiries about organic agriculture his Department has received in the last 12 months.

Over the past year the Department of Agriculture dealt with inquiries and requests for advice on organic agriculture from approximately 40 farmers and growers. We do much to promote more natural food and farming.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been undertaken by the inter-departmental committee on rural regeneration which was established by the Department of Agriculture in December 1989; and when the committee's findings will be publicised.

The inter-departmental committee on rural development has been in operation since January 1990. It continues to work to its general remit of

England and Wales 1987–88
Local education authority	All mandatory award holders1	Mandatory award-holders in receipt of a full maintenance grant1	Percentage in receipt of a full maintenance grant
Barking	307	168	55
Barnet	3,819	1,185	31
Bexley	1,253	362	29

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications relating to terrorist offences have been made for extradition from the Irish Republic to Britain (a) between 1972 and 14 November 1985 and (b) since 15 November 1985; how many have been refused; how many have been granted; and for how long any outstanding cases have been under consideration.

[holding answer 23 March 1990]: I have been asked to reply.In the period covered by the question, so far as England and Wales are concerned, the centrally available information on extradition requests made to the Republic of Ireland, in cases believed to have been related to terrorist offences, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students in each local education authority area received the full mandatory grant for undergraduates in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage they formed of all recipients of mandatory awards.

The data requested are listed in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his proposals to ensure that all schools comply with the school building regulations due to come into force in April.

The current standards for school premises are set out in the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981. No changes to these regulations are due to come into effect in April. Responsibility for meeting the requirements of the school premises regulations rests with the local education authorities and governing bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to provide non-teaching time for teachers in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools to enable them to implement (i) the teaching, testing and assessment provisions of the national curriculum and (ii) the proposals of the Elton report on discipline in schools.

The use of teachers' directed time, and in particular its division between teaching and non-teaching duties, is a matter for head teachers to decide.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what policy considerations determined his decision to accept the recommendations of the IAC on teachers' pay and conditions report in respect of the awards to main scale teachers on scale points 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

The IAC has produced an outstanding report, which sets out the thinking underlying its recommendations. My right hon. Friend has welcomed the report and proposes to accept its recommendations in full.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what allocations will be made to local education authorities to support the activities of the Workers Educational Association under the education support grant programme for 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is today writing to local education authorities in England to inform them of the level of expenditure which I have approved for the WEA activity in the education support grants (ESG) programme for 1990–91. The information is shown in the table.A total of 102 authorities have submitted bids for this ESG, out of a total of 107 that were invited to do so. This is a most encouraging result, which demonstrates the support of the local education authorities for the Workers Educational Association. It confirms the willingness of statutory and voluntary providers to work in partnership to assist the better overall planning of adult education locally.

Local education authorities	Expenditure (£)
Barking	690
Barnet	9,445
Bexley	6,920
Brent	1,125
Bromley	6,920
Croydon	1,210
Ealing	1,820
Enfield	1,905
Haringey	695
Harrow	7,555
Havering	810
Hillingdon	3,645
Hounslow	1,125
Kingston upon Thames	1,905
Merton	1,210
Newham	1,125
Redbridge	2,020
Richmond upon Thames	3,035
Sutton	1,125
Waltham Forest	605
Camden	17,810
Greenwich	430
Hackney	1,735
Hammersmith and Fulham	430
Islington	430
Lambeth	650
Lewisham	430
Southwark	1,515
Tower Hamlets	865
Birmingham	9,415
Coventry	15,695
Dudley	3,135
Sandwell	3,135
Walsall	6,280
Wolverhampton	5,480
Knowsley	3,255
Liverpool	29,340
St. Helens	3,255
Sefton	4,070
Wirral	7,330
Bolton	9,375
Bury	1,485
Manchester	12,550
Oldham	3,720
Rochdale	3,500
Salford	3,060
Stockport	7,470
Tameside	3,000
Trafford	9,625
Wigan	2,922
Barnsley	4,450
Doncaster	3,505
Rotherham	9,680
Sheffield	18,455
Bradford	6,505
Calderdale	2,395
Kirklees	3,990
Leeds	16,500
Wakefield	4,070
Gateshead	3,290
Newcastle upon Tyne	9,870
North Tyneside	3,375
South Tyneside	2,665
Sunderland	10,615
Avon	24,345
Bedfordshire	5,305
Berkshire	20,025
Buckinghamshire	21,455
Cambridgeshire	11,375
Cheshire	23,405
Cleveland	11,630
Cornwall	17,355
Cumbria	23,925
Derbyshire	27,753
Devon	40,500
Dorset	12,340
Durham	16,445

Local education authorities	Expenditure (£)
East Sussex	10,835
Essex	26,980
Gloucestershire	11,830
Hampshire	31,000
Hereford and Worcester	12,555
Hertfordshire	16,760
Humberside	18,125
Isle of Wight	1,075
Kent	24,500
Lancashire	21,320
Leicestershire	19,840
Lincolnshire	18,845
Norfolk	10,615
North Yorkshire	27,580
Northamptonshire	6,065
Northumberland	6,545
Nottinghamshire	40,215
Oxfordshire	30,040
Somerset	7,610
Staffordshire	13,340
Suffolk	12,890
Surrey	6,340
Warwickshire	5,180
West Sussex	18,665
Wiltshire	19,720

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to make any financial contribution to the proposed building of a radar base at Brawdy for the United States navy.

A decision in principle has been taken to embark, in collaboration with the United States, on a two-year joint trial of a United States navy over the horizon radar (OTHR) in the United Kingdom. This equipment is a high-frequency radar which uses the ionosphere to refract beyond the normal radar horizon. It can therefore supplement the coverage obtained by conventional microwave radars and enhance the effectiveness of airborne early warning and air defence resources.The trial is planned to start in 1993, and the information obtained from it will be fully shared between ourselves and the United States. The United States Government will supply the radar; the United Kingdom Government will provide and prepare the operational sites; and the running costs of the trial will be shared. Once the results of the trial have been fully assessed, further consideration will be given whether to retain the OTHR as a permanent operational facility.To be effective, the system needs separate transmitter and receiver sites. After extensive studies and assessment of possible locations, we have concluded that the most suitable site for the transmitter is St. David's airfield, Pembrokeshire, and that that for the receiver is Blakehill radio station, near Cricklade, Wiltshire. Both sites are MOD owned. We will shortly be submitting formal notices of proposed development to the appropriate planning authorities in accordance with normal planning procedures. These will be supported by full environmental impact assessments. No construction work will be carried out at either site before the necessary approvals have been obtained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the financing of the special payments to be made to pre-1973 war widows.

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 11 December 1989 at columns 677-78, the special payments to pre-1973 war widows will be paid from the beginning of the financial year 1990–91 by the Department of Social Security on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. The necessary provision is being sought in the 1990–91 main estimate for class I vote 3. Pending parliamentary approval of that estimate, urgent expenditure estimated at £55 million will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received concerning the future of RAF Greenham Common.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave at column 615 of Hansard, dated 6 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence his Department has that the Soviet Union is reducing its capacity to produce chemical and biological weapons.

The Soviet Union declared in 1987 that it had ceased production of chemical weapons. We are, however, not aware of any change in Soviet capacity to produce them since then. The Soviet Union is a signatory of the 1972 biological warfare convention and has stated it is in compliance with its obligations. Any production of biological weapons would be in breach of the convention.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to meet the United States of America Defence Secretary; and what he expects to discuss.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Wallace) on 6 February 1990 at column 597.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for the years 1975 to 1989 (a) the number of Mallet Blow exercises, (b) the number of missions in each exercise, (c) the types of aircraft involved in each and (d) the accidents involving low flying in each exercise.

Exercise Mallet Blow was not introduced until 1980. Records of exercises since that date have not been retained in their entirety. I am able, however, to supply the following details of Mallet Blow exercises since 1984:

Exercise	Missions flown	Offensive aircraft types1
Mallet Blow 84/1	66	A-10, Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado, F-111
Mallet Blow 84/2	42	A-10, Jaguar, Harrier, Tornado, F-111
Mallet Blow 84/3	139	A-10, F-111, Draken, Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier
Mallet Blow 84/4	83	Draken, Tornado, A-10, F-111, Harrier, Jaguar
Mallet Blow 85/1	77	Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, F16, A-10, F-111, Dracken, Buccaneer
Mallet Blow 85/2	88	Jaguar, Tornado, Harrier, F-16, Draken, RF-4, F-111
Mallet Blow 85/3	73	Tornado, Jaguar, Draken, F-111, Harrier, A-10
Mallet Blow 86/1	42	Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Draken, F-111
Mallet Blow 86/2	123	Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar, F-16, F-111, Buccaneer
Mallet Blow 86/3	63	Jaguar, Harrier, Tornado, Draken, F-5, F-16, F-111, Mirage, F-18
Mallet Blow 86/4	85	Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier
Mallet Blow 87/1	60	Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar, Drakm, F-111
Mallet Blow 87/2	133	Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier, F-16, F-111
Mallet Blow 87/3	12	Harrier, F-111, Tornado, Jaguar
Mallet Blow 88/1	86	Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar, Draken, F-111
Mallet Blow 88/2	100	Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar, F-111
Mallet Blow 89/1	74	Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier, Draken, A-10
Mallet Blow 89/2	193	Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier, F-111, F-16, F-18
1 A number of other support aircraft (tankers, air defence fighters and airborne early-warning aircraft) participate in Mallet Blow exercises but these do not take part in low-level flying in the Otterburn area.

There have been two major accidents to low-flying aircraft involved in Mallet Blow exercises: a German air force Tornado aircraft crashed during Mallet Blow 86/4, and two RAF Harrier aircraft collided in mid-air during Mallet Blow 87/3.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the bases where aircraft involved in the Mallet Blow exercise from 26 to 31 March will fly from.

Aircraft participating in Exercise Mallet Blow 90/1 from 26 to 30 March 1990 will fly from the following bases:

• RAF Brize Norton
• RAF Coltishall
• RAF Coningsby
• RAF Cottesmore
• RAF Honington
• RAF Leeming
• RAF Leuchars
• RAF Linton-on-Ouse
• RAF Marham
• RAF Waddington
• RAF Wattisham
• RAF Wittering
• A & AEE Boscombe Down
• RAF Alconbury
• RAF Bentwaters
• RAF Lakenheath
• RAF Upper Heyford
• RAF Bruggen
• RAF Laarbruch

• RAF Gutersloh
• GAF Büchel
• GAF Bremgarten
• GAF Leck
• GAF Norvenich
• NAEWF Geilenkirchen

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of the Mallet Blow exercise from 26 to 31 March.

The full costs of individual exercises are not kept centrally and their calculation would involve disproportionate cost and effort.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent in each year since 1979 on improving grade 4 service accommodation.

Figures for works expenditure are not kept in the format requested and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate expense.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent in each year since 1979 on the improvement of service accommodation.

The Department places a high priority on the improvement of service accommodation and consequently expenditure on improving this type of accommodation has increased substantially over the past two or three years. Figures for works expenditure are not, however, kept in the format requested and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate expense.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans exist for bringing grade 4 service accommodation up to standard with civilian housing.

Service accommodation is graded according to amenity, locational and environmental factors as well as physical condition and facilities, so that the grading of properties has only an indirect bearing on whether they require modernisation. It is not clear on what basis the standard of a property such as a barracks could be compared with that for civilian housing. However, all three services have extensive rolling modernisation programmes for married quarters and single living accommodation, regardless of grading. They plan to complete the modernisation of the former within 10 to 15 years. Single living accommodation will take longer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the industrial implications of a reduction in the planned order for the replacement of the Chieftain tank.

No decision has yet been made on tank numbers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what criteria govern the application of the Government fire standards code to the major refurbishment of Ministry of Defence storage facilities;

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on Wednesday 28 March 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total amount of expenditure spent to date on reimbursing service personnel in Scotland in compensation for community charges that are above the average.

The estimated total expenditure for 1989–90 is £146,426.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average service community charge in Scotland, as calculated for the purposes of reimbursement.

It is £291 for 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated average service community charge in England and Wales, as calculated for the purposes of reimbursement.

For the purposes of accommodation charge refunds after 1 April 1990, the average service community charge for England, Scotland and Wales will be used. The actual figure will be available shortly. My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the percentage of service personnel in Scotland who are liable for community charges (a) below and (b) above the average, as calculated for the purposes of reimbursement.

Some 35 per cent. of personnel in service accommodation in Scotland in 1989–90 are paying community charge below the service average, and 65 per cent. are paying above the average. I have no information on the community charge liability of service personnel living in their own homes, who are not eligible for accommodation charge refunds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the percentage of service personnel in Scotland who will be responsible for community charges above the average, as calculated for the purposes of reimbursement, but are not eligible for reimbursement of accommodation charges.

Some 50 per cent. of those in service accommodation, in 1989–90, fall into this category.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the percentage of service personnel in Scotland who will be responsible for community charges above the average, as calculated for the purposes of reimbursement, and will be eligible for reimbursement of accommodation charges.

Some 15 per cent. of those in service accommodation, in 1989–90, fall into this category.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy in respect of the timing for starting negotiations for the reduction of nuclear systems, relative to implementation of any reductions under CFE; and if he will make a statement.

Our policy remains as set out in the comprehensive concept adoped by NATO Heads of State and Government at their summit in May 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy in respect of the timing of a decision on the modernisation of short-range nuclear weapons, relative to the West German election; and if he will make a statement.

A decision on a replacement system for our WE177 free-fall bomb is not expected before the latter part of this year. With regard to the following on to Lance system, the agreed position remains that NATO will not take a decision before 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Ministry of Defence has taken to improve employment opportunities for the spouses and older children of service personnel stationed in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany and (c) Cyprus.

My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to have a precise figure for loss of mainstream corporation tax receipts from banks due to provisions on doubtful foreign debts incurred in Third world lending for the year 1985–86.

The precise amount will be determined only when all banks with sovereign debt have agreed their tax assessments for the appropriate accounting period with their tax inspector. It is not possible to forecast with certainty when this will be. In any event, it would involve disproportionate expense to collect centrally information about all the adjustments which will be made by every bank, so the information collected centrally will remain an estimate with some degree of imprecision.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to allow unemployed professional people to claim tax relief on their membership of professional bodies as if they were employed.

[holding answer 23 March 1990]: The general position is that, under section 201 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, an employee may have tax relief for annual subscriptions to a professional body if the subscription is paid out of the employee's pay, it is paid to a body approved by the Inland Revenue under section 201(3) of the 1988 Act and the activities of the body are relevant to the duties of the employment. A professional subscription paid during a period of unemployment would not normally satisfy the conditions for relief, but where a subscription is paid during a period of unemployment and the individual was employed during the same tax year (in a job to which membership of the professional body was relevant) tax relief would usually be given against the income from that employment. We have no plans for changing the rules of this tax relief.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many persons made use of the civil service medical centre for vaccinations and inoculations in 1989; and what records are kept of such treatment of individuals.

[holding answer 27 March 1990]: In 1939, about 4,000 persons received 10,929 vaccinations and/or inoculations at the central London clinic of the civil service occupational health service. The occupational health service maintains records of these items for administrative purposes. Each individual is supplied with a personal record of the procedure undertaken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report for each of the last 10 years (a) the number of complaints made against his Department to the Parliamentary Commission for Administration, (b) the number of complaints upheld and (c) the action he took on (b).

The number of complaints (a) made and (b) upheld for the past 10 years is as follows:

	(a) complaints made	(b) complaints upheld
1989	1—	1—
1988	26	4
1987	24	1
1986	23	1
1985	17	nil
1984	34	4
1983	28	2
1982	23	4
1981	33	5
1980	33	2
1 Figures not yet available.

When the PCA upholds a complaint it is departmental practice to provide an appropriate remedy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from Friends of the Earth concerning the use of, and costs allowed to taxpayers through the use of, company cars.

A number of branches of Friends of the Earth raised the issue of company cars in their responses to "Traffic in London" and the London assessment studies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what considerations the Department has given to the development of light rail in London.

The docklands light railway opened in 1987 and is being extended to Bank and through the royal docks to Beckton. London Regional Transport is developing a case for a southern extension to Greenwich and Lewisham. In 1986 London Regional Transport and British Rail jointly published a report "Light Rail for London", which identified other possibilities. As a result, London Regional Transport and British Rail, together with the London borough of Croydon, are undertaking a detailed feasibility study of a light rail system in the Croydon area. The Government will consider carefully the financial and economic case for such schemes and their priorities, when they are brought forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now designate the A427 at Theddingworth, Leicester, as a trunk road.

No. A new trunk road route, the M1-A1 link (A14), now under construction parallel to the A427, will offer a more appropriate route for longer-distance east-west traffic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East of 20 March, Official Report, column 506, if he will authorise wheel clamping in Green street and Katherine road, in Newham.

Following a request by the local highway authority, wheel clamping is authorised by the Secretary of State for Transport, if he is satisfied that it is justified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate of the cost of the A6 (M) Stockport north-south bypass.

A total of £89 million for works and land.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

[holding answer 28 March 1990]: We estimate that our expenditure in the financial year 1989–90 will be £4·0 million. A list of contracts awarded is in the table. The provisional budget for the financial year 1990–91 is £3·5 million.Comprehensive records of all contracts with consultancy firms are not held centrally. It would be disproportionately expensive to collect all the information required. The list identifies those management and computing consultancies which began in 1989–90 and are

valued at £10,000 or more:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a further statement on his proposals to extend help with the extra costs of disability to less severely disabled people of working age and below.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 5 March at column 525-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people without a job or YTS place have had child benefit terminated in advance of the cut-off date.

The precise information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, a study of summer school leavers in 1988 indicated that in some 1,200 cases, child benefit was terminated during the extension period (12 September 1988 to 1 January 1989) other than by reason of the child finding work or a YTS place. In 90 per cent. of those cases, the termination was because the child had reached the age of 18, the remainder being for a variety of reasons such as the child going abroad or into care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the yield from a 1 per cent. contribution by employed and self-employed persons, respectively, on all earnings above the upper earnings limits for class 1 and class 4 contributions in 1990–91.

It is estimated that a 1 per cent. contribution on earnings in excess of the upper earnings limit would yield £275 million in class 1 and £70 million in class 4 national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Monklands, West, Official Report, 26 March, column 31, on the social fund, how many personnel in his Department are involved in reviews; and where they are located.

In 447 local offices, there are social fund officers whose statutory functions include first-tier reviews. In addition, there are 44 social fund inspectors whose sole function is to undertake second-tier reviews. Social fund inspectors are independent of the Department. They are appointed by and accountable to the social fund commissioner, and their office is located in Birmingham.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many students in each of the last three years received housing and other benefits valued in current prices in excess of (a) £310 and (b) £420 in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 16 February at column 893.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts; excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

[holding answer 28 March 1990]: The estimated expenditure on management and computer consultancy contracts in the financial year 1989–90, excluding hardward and software purchases, is £42·1 million. Details of the individual contracts are given in the table.For thes financial year 1990–91, the Department has budgeted to spend £29·3 million.MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENTS

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to involve Her Majesty's Government in the future of the Juno project; and if she will make a statement.

The enterprise shown by the Juno initiative is welcome and we regret that it is encountering financial difficulties. However, Juno is a one-off private sector initiative angled at commercial sponsorship and media interest. Diversion of public resources from the Government's longer-term scientific and commercial space objectives would not be justified. Accordingly, the Government do not intend to intervene.

To ask the Prime Minister if, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Falkirk, East (Mr. Ewing), Official Report, 20 March, column 513, she will deposit in the Library a list of the quangos operating now and in June 1979, giving alongside their areas of responsibility.

The Library of the House has copies of the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1989", which lists all non-departmental public bodies, and Cmnd. 7797, "Report on Non Departmental Public Bodies", published in January 1980.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of her correspondence with British Nuclear Forum in the last year.

It is not my practice to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of her address to the Royal Society conference on acid rain on 22 March.

A copy is available in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has undertaken into the benefits of the privatisation of the Property Services Agency; and if he will make a statement.

It is clear that competition will make the PSA more efficient, and privatisation will give it freedom to compete more effectively. Both processes will benefit the PSA's customers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what organisational changes he will effect the Property Services Agency from 1 April.

On 5 May 1988, my right hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr Ridley) announced that the PSA should become a commercial organisation. The PSA has made good progress towards that objective and, as from 1 April 1990, will be split into two oganisations—Property Holdings and PSA Services. Of the 13,700 non-industrial staff and 7,500 industrial staff in the PSA at present, some 700 non-industrial and 1,050 industrial staff will transfer with Property Holdings to DOE(C). The rest will remain with PSA Services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will revise the code of guidance on homelessness procedures to ensure that disabled people who are in residential or hospital care and who wish to have a home of their own are accepted as homeless by their local housing authority.

No. Health authorities and social services authorities may negotiate nomination arrangements with local housing authorities or housing associations but it cannot be right to give their ex-patients an automatic right to jump the queue for subsidised housing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department will make funds available to enable the work of the surface water acidification programme to continue.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Field) in the Official Report on 23 March at column 770.The Department, with other Government Departments, will continue to fund wide-ranging monitoring and research programmes on the nature and impacts of acid deposition. Total Government expenditure in this field in 1990–91 is planned to exceed £2 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations his Department had at the Royal Society conference on water acidification in London between 19 and 22 March.

[holding answers 29 March 1990]: The surface water acidification programme (SWAP) final conference was attended by scientific experts from my Department. Additionally, many of the United Kingdom-based scientists participating in the SWAP research also have contracts from my Department to carry out parts of our continuing £1·5 million research programme into the processes, impacts and abatement of United Kingdom acid deposition.

To ask the Secretary of State for the 20Environment what consideration has been given to the European Commission proposal for a Council directive on civil liability for damage caused by waste, COM[89]282 final-SYN 217, dated 15 September 1989.

The Government's initial consideration of the proposed Council directive was incorporated in an explanatory memorandum put before Parliament on 27 October 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of money has been received by Kirklees metropolitan council from the West Yorkshire residuary body, in each year since the abolition of West Yorkshire metropolitan county council.

The information is as follows:

£ million
	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
Revenue balances	0·92	nil	nil	nil
Capital receipts	0·64	1·05	1·03	1·83

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated cost of ending the dumping of sewage sludge at sea for each water authority in England and Wales for each year to 1998.

We have begun discussions with the sewerage undertakers concerned to work out the details of the necessary programmes of work required to end sludge dumping at sea by 1998. The time scales of these programmes and their associated costs will depend on the particular circumstances in each undertaker's area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Merseyside residuary body will complete its work and be dissolved; and if he will make a statement.

The Merseyside residuary body will be formally dissolved today by an order made under section 67 of the Local Government Act 1985. During the four years since abolition, the residuary body has sold or transferred to successor authorities 5,735 former county council property interests. It has distributed some £37 million from property sales and revenue balances for the benefit of local ratepayers.The Merseyside residuary body is the fourth of the seven residuary bodies to wind up. It inherited a considerable number of property interests, rights and liabilities from the former Merseyside county council, not least those in respect of Croxteth hall and country park. It is a credit to all concerned that successful solutions were achieved with the full co-operation of the successor authorities.The order transferred the remainder of the residuary body's property, functions, rights and liabilities to the city of Liverpool and the metropolitan boroughs of Knowsley, St. Helens, Sefton and Wirral on 31 January 1990. The residuary body's superannuation and compensation responsibilities were transferred to Wirral district council in October 1987. The residuary body's final report is being laid before Parliament today.The two remaining metropolitan residuary bodies are on target to complete their abolition-related work within the five-year time scale.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the London residuary body will complete its GLC-related business; and if he will make a statement.

The bulk of the London residuary body's remaining GLC-related property, rights and liabilities were today transferred to the London boroughs and other functional successors by an order made under sections 67, 100 and 101 of the Local Government Act 1985. This marks the virtual completion of the residuary body's role in relation to the abolition of the GLC.The residuary body inherited a considerable number of property interests, rights and liabilities, and a wide and complex range of tasks from the former GLC. To date, £184 million in revenue balances and £478 million in capital receipts have been distributed to the boroughs, with more to come. This is an impressive achievement by any standard, and I congratulate the chairman and board members of the residuary body on the effective manner in which they have carried out their tasks. The financial benefits to ratepayers and charge payers of abolishing the GLC are now increasingly apparent.The London residuary body will continue to have responsibility for a limited number of ex-GLC tasks, including the disposal of County hall and the distribution to the London boroughs of the receipts generated. However, its main task from 1 April will be to act as the residuary body for ILEA functions, property, rights and liabilities which are not transferred to inner London boroughs on the abolition of that authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what freedom he will give local authorities that dispose of all or most of their housing to new landlords to spend the resulting receipts; and whether he will make a statement.

The Government want to encourage innovative approaches to the ownership and management of subsidised rented housing and some local authorities are achieving this through large scale voluntary transfers of their housing to private bodies—usually housing associations. I am now in a position to announce decisions on the treatment of capital receipts in these cases.Local authorities who transfer all or most of their housing will be required to set aside 75 per cent. of the receipt or an amount equivalent to the debt on the housing being transferred, whichever is the greater. The remainder of the receipt will be a usable receipt as defined in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. One way in which authorities will be able to use this part of the receipts is to secure the provision of additional low-cost housing through housing associations and the private sector. I hope they will make full use of the opportunity thus provided.In view of the potential scale of these receipts, we believe that authorities should show restraint in the rate at which they are spent. We will discuss authorities' plans for spending their receipts with them before giving consent to transfers.I know that a number of authorities have been waiting to find out what use they could make of voluntary transfer receipts. I hope that removing the uncertainty today will help those who are considering whether to pursue a transfer. Since the trend towards voluntary transfers is still at a relatively early stage, we will keep these arrangements under review to establish whether they are working satisfactorily for the Government and the local authorities concerned.I have placed in the Library a note giving our guidelines on the use of such receipts. A copy of the note is being sent to the local authority associations and other interested bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps the Government propose to take to ensure that holiday caravans remain within the non-domestic rating system in England and Wales.

During the consideration of the Local Government Finance Bill in 1988, the Government, in response to representations made by the caravan industry, introduced an amendment intended to provide that holiday caravans should remain within rating, while the owners of caravans not occupied as sole or main residences but used as second homes should be subject to the standard community charge. The distinction was drawn according to whether or not the caravan was on a protected site, within the meaning of the Caravan Sites Act 1968. No holiday caravans were understood to be on such sites.It has now become apparent, however, that many sites primarily occupied by holiday caravans are protected sites. A high proportion of holiday caravans may therefore attract the standard community charge. This was not the Government's intention and, even though we have prescribed a maximum standard community charge multiplier of one for caravans and drawn to local authorities' attention their discretion to set a lower multiplier still, it is likely that many holiday caravan owners in England and Wales would face a burden considerably greater than if their caravans had been rated.After discussion with the caravan industry, therefore, the Government have decided to introduce shortly legislation to amend the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to provide for all caravans other than those occupied as a sole or main residence to be treated as non-domestic and subject to rating rather than attracting the standard community charge, whether or not they are stationed on a protected site. The legislation will provide for this amendment to the 1988 Act to take effect from 1 April this year. It will further provide that any standard community charge which may have been paid on a caravan before the legislation comes into force will be repayable. Once the legislation is in force, valuation officers will alter local non-domestic rating lists in respect of the affected sites to reflect the contribution that the caravans make to the assessment of the site as a whole.My Department and the Welsh Office are today writing to all charging authorities in England and Wales to inform them of the Government's intentions. The legislative position is different in Scotland, where holiday caravans are not liable for the standard community charge unless they are able to be used for all year round residence. However, the change we are proposing may lead to caravans in England being subject to non-domestic rating which, in comparable circumstances in Scotland, would be liable to the standard charge. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has concluded that legislative change is therefore required in Scotland and the necessary provisions will be included in the Bill which we will bring forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to monitor how much money has been spent by local authorities in the monitoring of shops' compliance with the Shops Act 1950 and on prosecutions for breaches of the Act.

[holding answer 19 March 1990]: My Department has no plans to collect such information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy as a condition of recognition to require the accountancy bodies seeking supervisory recognition under the Companies Act 1989 to ensure that persons from the accountancy firms criticised by his Department and the joint disciplinary scheme are not nominated to any policy-making committees.

No. To impose such a condition as a general rule would be unreasonable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report for each of the last 10 years (a) the number of complaints made against his Department to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, (b) the number of complaints upheld and (c) the action he took on(b).

The number of complaints (a) made and (b) upheld for the last 10 years is as follows:

Year	(a) complaints made	(b) complaints upheld
1989	1—	1—
1988	26	—
1987	21	1
1986	10	2
1985	13	1
1984	13	1
1983	15	—
1982	14	4

Year	(a) complaints made	(b) complaints upheld
1981	15	—
1980	19	1
1 Figures not yet available.

When the PCA upholds a complaint, it is departmental practice to provide an appropriate remedy, agreed with the PCA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to extend the powers of county trading standards officers.

I consider that county trading standards officers have adequate powers to enforce consumer protection legislation and I have no plans to extend those powers.

To ask the Secretary State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions the auditors of any company have been replaced as a consequence of issuing a qualified opinion; and if he will publish the latest available statistics.

This information is not collected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will withdraw his representatives from any auditing policy-making organisation which allows any individual from the auditing firms criticised by his Department to influence the formulation of policy.

My Department will continue to seek to make a constructive contribution to the development of guidance for the accountancy profession. An arbitrary policy of withdrawal in the circumstances suggested by the hon. Member's question would therefore be self-defeating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will introduce legislation giving him powers specifically to investigate the affairs of auditing firms which according to his inspectors have performed poor audits.

[holding answer 29 March 1990]: No, but under the Companies Act 1989, which will provide a new supervisory system for company auditors, it must appear to the Secretary of State that recognised supervisory bodies have effective arrangements for the investigation of complaints against company auditors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will issue accounting recommendations to companies for the accounting treatment of currency swaps.

No. This issue is being considered by the accounting profession and my Department is watching developments closely.